Category Archives: Biography

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Rabbi Daniel Brenner

Photo of Rabbi Daniel Brenner

Daniel S. Brenner was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, studied in Jerusalem at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies, and earned both an M.A. and rabbinic title from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

After rabbinical school, Brenner studied with the Modern Orthodox theologian Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and went on to serve on the faculty of CLAL- The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership from 1998 – 2003. At CLAL he authored works on medical ethics with Joseph Fins MD (Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College) and Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard (Embracing Life and Facing Death,A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care, 2002) on spirituality with the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and on a variety of Jewish topics for periodicals including The Forward, Spirituality & Health, Beliefnet, and The Jewish Week. Brenner also served as co-director of CLAL’s program for rabbinical and graduate students.

In 2011, Brenner left Birthright Israel to join the Jewish educational organization Moving Traditions. In this capacity, Brenner is currently advancing a national educational program for teen boys, entitled Shevet Achim: The Brotherhood, which aims to reverse the trend of young Jewish men disconnecting from the community following bar mitzvah.

A NOTE ON MY RABBINIC AND CHAPLAINCY WORK

For the last fourteen years I have been an active member and volunteer at Congregation B’nai Keshet in Montclair, NJ. I occasionally serve as a scholar-in-residence at other congregations, officiate at baby naming ceremonies, weddings or funerals, or serve in other rabbinic capacities. In the past, I have served as a community rabbi of String of Pearls Congregation, Princeton, NJ (2000-2007) and Mishkan Ha’Am, Westchester, NY (1998-2000); as a student rabbi: Congregation B’nai Abraham, Bordentown, NJ (1995-97); a prison chaplain: Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Eagles Point, PA (1997); a nursing home chaplain: Philadelphia Geriatric Center, Philadelphia, PA (1996); and an emergency room and intensive care chaplain: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA (1995.)